Harry Potter & the Golden Bond
by Ms. AJ Ninja
Summary: [YASBF] Set in Harry's 5th Year - AU: Harry and Ginny faced Voldemort, Weasley parents, and Ron and Hermione's bickering. Surely they could face this.
1. Dreams Aren't Supposed to Be Real

**Author's Notes: [Yet Another Soul Bond Fic] Yes, there are probably millions of those on here, but I wanted to give it a try.**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**This is also on Archive of Our Own: archiveofourown[.org]/works/1801063/chapters/3862642 (take out brackets)**

**Edited Oct. 31 2015 : PLEASE READ ON AO3 EVERYTHING IS UPDATED THERE FIRST AND HAS ALL THE EDITS**

* * *

Chapter 1: Dreams Aren't Supposed to Be Real

Ginny forced a smile on her face, something that was too easily done to be considered normal. She ran her hand through her bright red hair and talked aimlessly about the last class she had with one of her classmates. Her eyes flickered towards a messy, raven-haired boy who gazed at a certain _beautiful_ Ravenclaw with blatant admiration (something she knew all too well about). She had to keep her polite smile on and force the urge to hex everyone down.

"—but that charm was difficult, there were over ten motions. Wonder why Flitwick's teaching us th—"

The ramblings of Colin Creevey brought her back to reality. She almost snorted out loud. _As if fantasy was her staring at bloody Potter when he's staring at Cho,_ she thought to herself bitterly, _Nightmare more like it._

She sighed though, knowing that she'd wait a lifetime for him. She had been ever since her father told her the story of the Boy Who Lived when she was at the tender age of five. Ginny still remembered when she said she'd marry him. Her father gave her _that_ smile and she continued. She would marry him to give him a family since he lost his. She would make him feel loved like she felt at the Burrow (well, when her brothers weren't ignoring her anyway). Her father smiled warmly and ruffled her hair, like he did with her brothers, kissed her forehead and said, "He's lucky to have you then, princess."

Ginny knew that she shouldn't be surprised at his infatuation with Cho. She was pretty, _really_ pretty, with shining bright eyes and a lovely smile that probably made his heart beat faster in his chest like hers did when his lips quirked up into a similar grin. All she had was her trademark Weasley hair, temper, and too many insecurities to count. She almost cringed, _her insecurities_ reminded her of her first year all too much.

She still had nightmares about Tom. He was so nice the first few weeks, consoling her about her problems, listening to her rants and how she felt, telling her that he was always there for her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that writing to a diary that wrote back was weird even in Wizarding standards but she couldn't bring herself to care. She ignored all the warnings her dad had told her countless of times _("Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.")_ because Tom was her friend. Something that she was never really accustomed with after the death of Luna's mother; that's when the dotty girl became more distant. But when she wrote about her crush on Harry Potter, the boy who killed Lord Voldemort when he was one, Tom demanded more. And more. _And more._ And then the events in the Chamber of Secrets passed and her crush turned into something more. Seeing Harry at the brink of death, not like the heroic picture she (and probably countless of other people) painted in her head. He was a twelve year old boy who got hurt. Who saved her despite not knowing her. Who has faults. An imperfect hero. And that made her fall even more.

As years passed, that voice in the back of her mind slowly turned from hers to Riddle's. She could hear his voice echoing in her mind criticizing her every move. She hated it when her dorm room got quiet as they fell into the embrace of Morpheus, that's when he started saying things like _'you're mine'_ which made her shiver in disgust. She missed all the ruckus the Burrow had, the noise. It made her sleep better knowing that her family surrounded her. Especially when Harry visits and sleeps over, her nightmares turned into lovely dreams. Like the time she dreamt that Harry came over; he smiled crookedly and shyly at the same time and said that he was sorry that he was being a prat and ignoring her then he kisses her softly. But then she wakes up, _she always wakes up_. And she came to the startling realization that her feelings for Harry weren't going to be replicated ever. She would walk downstairs and see Harry give her an awkward smile and leave to talk to Ron and, more likely, get away from her.

"—inny? Ginny, are you feeling well?" Colin asked her, worried.

She gave a tired smile and lied, "Yeah, just a bit worn out. I'm gonna rest for a bit. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay, if you don't feel better go to Pomfrey. I'm sure she'll give you a potion for it."

"I'll see you later, Colin."

"Bye, Ginny."

She walked back to the Gryffindor common room then up to her dorm room. She laid her belongings near her trunk then flopped on her bed with a '_thump_' and sighed. She stripped out of her uniform and snuggled into her covers and slept.

* * *

Ginny blinked as the sun hit her eyes and she noticed that her warm bed felt more like grass. She opened her eyes more and glanced up to the sight of an upside down Harry smiling down at her with an adoring look on his face. She couldn't help but grin genuinely at him.

"Hi," she whispered. He gazed back at her warmly and let his hand comb through her red hair. The gesture comforted her; she picked herself up and leaned her head on his chest.

"You're cute when you sleep, you snore a little," he teased lightly, as if he's been doing it for years.

"I do not," she replied indignantly, nose wrinkling in disagreement.

"You so do, Gin," he retorted. Her smile faltered. This was a dream, it had to be. It was too perfect to be real. The sun in winter, Harry being affectionate. Merlin, _Harry being affectionate._ Towards her. This made her come back to reality (well as far into reality as you could get in a dream).

She muttered softly, "Harry… you know I love you, right? I'll always be there for you. Always."

"I know," he replied as he started out towards the lake, then repeated, "I know. I love you too."

She closed her eyes and let the feeling of Harry's hand gently run through her hair. It felt loving and gentle. "Why can't this be real?" she asked, her chocolate brown eyes watering. He looked at her with those emerald eyes and pulled her up into a hug, her back pressed up against the warmth of his chest. His lips ghosted over her pale neck. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Then she woke up.

Ginny flung herself out of her bed and straight towards the bathroom. She looked into her reflection then closed her eyes. She could still feel his hands in her hair, the warmth, the utter adoration pouring off of him—

"C'mon, Weasley, stop mooning over stupid dreams," she said to herself, not believing a word she just said. At least she woke herself up just in time for another DA meeting.

During the meeting she felt invigorated and happy that she actually learned something (like anyone would ever learn crap from Umbitch). She walked out saying her quick goodbye to Harry and the others when she realized that she forgot her cloak in the Room of Requirement. She walked in quietly and saw Harry kissing Cho under the mistletoe. She froze, her legs felt like lead and she felt as if her insides have been permanently frozen. She quickly got her cloak then ran to one of her hiding spots that Fred and George showed her during her second year at Hogwarts. She slid down the wall and put her head on her knees, forcing the sobs that were climbing up her throat back down.

_I need closure_, she thought to herself firmly through the tears, _I'll tell him about my feelings tomorrow._

Ginny knew that she'd need all the Gryffindor bravery to do it, then left to go to her room.

When she woke up the next morning she already felt the dread building up inside of her. She walked down, thankful that it was a Saturday morning and that most of Hogwart's inhabitants wmere still sound asleep. She saw Harry gazing into the fire with a perplexed expression, looking as though he was contemplating on something extremely important. Ginny warily walked towards him and said simply, "Hey."

"Hi, Ginny," he replied politely.

"Can I talk to you alone?" she questioned. She saw him look around the almost empty common room then shrugged.

"Sure, where you do wanna go?"

"Let's just take a walk. I feel like I could use one."

They gathered their cloaks and walked in silence for a several moments. She stopped then mustered up all of her Gryffindor courage she could possibly have (not that she thought there was a lot).

"Harry I—" _love you_ "—really like you."

Harry stopped halfway into his step, stumbling over himself a bit. He fumbled awkwardly with his glasses and ran his hand through his already tousled hair. She could she the tips of his ears turn pink. "I like you too," he said, quickly as a reply.

She reiterated her sentence, "I like you." Pause. "As more than a friend."

The silence was suffocating.

Who knew silence could be so loud?

"Ginny," he started out softly, not sure how to answer, "I'm sorry but I don't—"

She smiled bitterly, knowing his response. "I know." This made him purse his lips, as if he didn't think that she actually knew what he was thinking. "I just wanted you to know. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life regretting that I didn't tell you."

"It's really flattering though," he stumbled over his words. "But I like another person." She didn't notice the hesitance in his voice as he said it. He looked the same way when she first walked into the common room. Ginny looked at him then forced one of her fake smiles that looked so empty. Harry almost flinched.

"Cho, right?" she asked offhandedly. "The Ravenclaw."

"Yeah." He looked at one of the portraits, avoiding her gaze. Her heart clenched in her chest and she fought back the urge to cringe. She could hear Tom's voice in her head, mocking her, saying, _'I told you so. Like he'd ever want you with all the other more attractive girls in school.'_

She took a step back, her empty smile still in place. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you around, Harry."

"Ginny, wait—" But she was already gone. She ran to her hiding spot and went into the same position she'd been in last night. She grabbed her hair as Tom started speaking.

_'Ginny, Ginny, Ginny… I told you,'_ his deep, velvety voice feigned sympathy as he said so. '_Harry doesn't know what he lost.'_

"SHUT UP!" she yelled as her fist slammed into the stone wall. Bugger, she thought. After a few moments of staring at her bleeding hands, she finally went to the hospital wing. The Medi-witch waved her down and asked, "What in Merlin's name happened?"

"I punched a wall." Simple. True. Vague. _Perfect_. The twins would be proud.

The Healer muttered things under her breath and gave her a potion and did a couple of quick healing spells, then loosely tied a bandage around her hand telling her not to punch more walls before she sent her back.

When she got back to the common room she saw that a lot of people were awake and ready to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. Her eyes gravitated towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione waved her over and greeted her while Ron interrupted her, "What happened to your hand?"

Harry's eyes quickly snapped to her face, concern evident, then towards the loosely wrapped bandages around her knuckles. "I got into a fight with the wall and it won," she said sarcastically, then rolled her eyes.

Hermione clucked her tongue and Ron snorted. Her brother said, "Knew sooner or later that it was gonna happen." Hermione looked at him incredulously. He raised his hands defensively and said, "She's a Weasley! Female or not she was bound by the temper. You should have seen Charlie when he finally snapped." He whistled. "He scared the gnomes out of our garden! And thank Merlin for that; it made my day, if he hadn't done it I would've had to clear out he gnomes. Anyway, what made you so angry?"

She could feel Harry's eyes on her asking her the same question, just not out loud. She shrugged. Ron sighed and said, "Well I'm not telling Mum about this."

"You better not, brother. I would've hexed you if you tried," she stated then went into her room ignoring the inquiring looks from her dorm mates. She looked at her bedside table and saw one of the twin's newest invention. WWW's Delightful Daydream Charm: _Offered the consumer at least two hours in their desired dream (Charm is designed to be used for two uses only)._ She looked at it then muttered, "Closest I'll ever get to it." Then she tapped her wand against the parchment which made it open. She muttered the charm and moments later she dropped on her bed and fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

She woke up to the same scene with Harry above her. He grinned at her crookedly and said, "Welcome back, Ginny-love."

She gave him a tiny grin back before saying, "I never wanted to leave in the first place." She sat up and leaned back against Harry's lean frame, marveling at how they fit together so easily. He kissed her hair and murmured, "I really do love you."

"I know," she repeated his statement from her earlier dream.

"No, the real Harry." He took a deep breath as her muscles tensed. "He loves you but he doesn't know it yet."

Her voice cracked while she said, "You're just my dream. You don't really know if he does. He said he likes Cho."

"Cho's pretty. But you," he paused, "_You_ are stunning. You're witty, funny, feisty. You have an adorable button nose." He tapped her nose which made her giggle. "Your smile lights up even the darkest of rooms. You're eyes are the loveliest shade of chocolate I've ever seen. Every time I hold you I never want to let you go. You're one of the most sought out girls in the school. There's a club about you." She chuckled at the thought. But he shook his head seriously and tightened his grip on her waist. "No really, there's a line of blokes waiting to ask you out. Corner, Thomas, even Zabini for Merlin's sake!"

"And I'm a Potter," he stated as an afterthought.

"What's that got to do with any of this?" She turned around and faced him, eyebrow raised in question.

Harry smirked. "Potters have been known to be inexplicably attracted to redheads." She smacked his shoulder lightly, making him chuckle. "I'm not joking! Sirius told me all about the Potters and their attraction to redheads. Dad, Granddad, and Great Granddad and more. All got married to redheads. Seems like they're the only ones that could handle the Potter heir. It was inevitable that I was going to fall in love with you. And I don't mind one bit of it." Somewhere in her mind, she questioned how she could ever dream up something like this. It sounded real. Genuine, even. Ginny looked into his bright green eyes, covered by round spectacles. She gently took his glasses away and set them down somewhere beside her. She placed her hands on his jaw as she slowly leaned forward to kiss him. Her lips moved shyly against his but gained more momentum as moments passed. This kiss was different from all her other dream kisses. This felt real. She felt _alive_. Ginny straddled him as they snogged the life out of each other, not noticing the glow that they were both emitting.

* * *

Outside dreamland, people noticed Harry dozing off on the table — smile ever-present on his face — his breakfast long forgotten. But then people started to whisper when he started glowing, it started out as a faint shimmer which turned into a blinding light that made everyone look away for a couple of seconds. When they looked back Harry was still glowing a beautiful shade of gold. It was pulsing, radiating love and affection throughout the Great Hall.

Ginny's remaining dorm mates quickly ran to the Great Hall and told the professors what they found, "Ginny— I don't know what's happening but she's glowing!" Dumbledore looked thoughtful and kept a calm face, then said, "Minerva bring Miss Weasley to Madame Pomfrey. I'll bring Mr. Potter to the hospital wing." The head of Gryffindor House nodded and quickly did her duty. Everyone was chattering with each other, wondering what was going on. Hermione and Ron looked concerned for Harry and Ginny and followed the professors to the hospital wing.

Dumbledore smiled and thought to himself as he levitated Harry, _I haven't seen a soul bond happen in my lifetime. I should contact Nicolas and his wife. They're the only bonded I know._


	2. Golden Bonds, Visits, and Lemon Drops

**Author's Notes: This is a lot shorter than the first chapter (sorry). I have no clue if I'm going to update regularly because this fic started out as an idea in my notes folder on my phone and I have no clue what to do with it. **

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**This is also on Archive of Our Own: **** archiveofourown[.org]/works/1801063/chapters/3862642 (take out bracket) **

**Edited Oct. 31 2015 : PLEASE READ ON AO3 EVERYTHING IS UPDATED THERE FIRST AND HAS ALL THE EDITS**

* * *

Chapter 2: Golden Bonds, Visits, and Lemon Drops

Headmaster Dumbledore sat in his office writing a quick letter to the Flamels after a couple of hours in the hospital wing not knowing what to do. Fawkes appeared right next to the letter, happy to take it to the bonded couple. He smiled and said, "Thank you, old friend." He watched as his companion burst into beautiful flames disappearing right in front of his eyes. He leaned back against his comfortable chair and sighed. He recalled the hours spent in the hospital wing.

The moment they were both laid in beds next to each other, their magic seemed to have a mind of its own and pushed them together. Harry's arm automatically wrapped around Ginny's waist, small smiles growing as they neared each other. The professors all looked at each other. Madame Pomfrey swiftly ran some diagnostic tests to check them. She reported back to the professors, "They're both perfectly fine. But it seems as if their magical core is expanding at an abnormal rate. Their magic is keeping each other's magic in check but the rate at which their core is expanding is alarming. I've never seen this before."

The professors muttered to each other when Dumbledore finally spoke, "Do the Soul Revealing spell." She raised her eyebrow as did others but did as she was told.

She uttered the spell clearly, hand flicking in a rather complex motion, "_Ostendere Animae_."

She gasped at what she saw. Two beautiful, bright souls, one a wonderful shade of emerald and the other a striking red, intertwining with one another as if they were playfully teasing each other. This furthered answered the Headmaster's remaining questions.

He addressed the others with a twinkle in his eyes, "I suggest we leave them for the time being seeing that they aren't harming anyone. On another note, I am happy to announce that Mister Potter and Miss Weasley are now soul bonded."

Some raised their eyebrows. Some scoffed. Some just stared curiously at the two.

"I will contact the last remaining bonded to ask some questions. We will have an emergency meeting in my quarters once I receive more information; I will contact you then. For now, let us leave the newly bonded and inform the rest of the students about their peers. I have a feeling that Messers Weasley, Weasley, Weasley and Miss Granger are to be found—" He waved his wand casually at the closed doors, which were now open. "—right here. Now, I am glad to tell you that your friends and sister are perfectly fine. They will stay here until further notice."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask probably a hundred questions when Snape came by, his cloak billowing past him, sneering at them.

He uttered in his baritone voice, "Ten points from Gryffindor for spying. I will remove more if you don't clear the area." The Weasleys protested but were quickly silenced by Hermione's glare. She pushed them out of the doorway and up towards the Gryffindor common room.

Minerva stared pointedly at Severus. "You didn't have to do that."

He shrugged and responded, "It got them out. Didn't it?"

Dumbledore interrupted, feeling as if he was speaking to bickering children rather than grown adults (he ignored the fact that there was a handful of lemon drops in his pocket, that was completely irrelevant at the moment), "Now, Severus, Minerva let us end this and do our duties as professors." They glared at each other but nodded.

After they notified the rest of the student body that the two students were fine everyone returned to where they were supposed to be which led to Dumbledore sitting behind his rather ornate desk waiting for Fawkes to return.

Dumbledore sucked on his lemon drops until Fawkes came back in a dramatic burst of brilliant flames. He thanked his companion and plucked the letter from his claws.

_Dear Albus,_

_Hello, my old friend. The news is surprising to us. The last bonded couple was a century ago and they didn't survive the bonding process, for the didn't want to complete it. I hope that the newly bonded are well. My lovely Perenelle and I will visit in three days time and teach Mister and Missus Potter their new arrangement._

_On another note, Perenelle has gained a liking to your blasted lemon drops. When we drop by, she expects some given to her. This is very much your fault._

_Yours truly,_

_Nicholas Flamel_

_-Master Alchemist-_

Dumbledore raised a white eyebrow at 'Mister and Missus Potter.' He needs to further his research on the effect of minors with soul bonds. His eyes didn't seem to take notice of 'didn't survive the bonding process.' As he read, he chuckled as his eyes flittered over the second paragraph. He looked at his rapidly dwindling pile of lemon drops and noted that he needed to owl for more. He wrote a letter of thanks and gave it to Fawkes, grateful the Phoenix didn't mind carrying the letter to them. Dumbledore leaned back against his chair and got set to writing to the Weasley parents.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, the Flamels were still very much alive. Before giving the 'okay' for Albus to destroy the stone, they saved enough potions to last a couple of more years, to set some affairs in order and to enjoy the last of their lifetime in complete peace until they move onto the next big adventure.

Until Albus called them about the new bonded pair.

Nicholas and Perenelle were the only known bonded pair in the Wizarding world for two centuries now. The only reason being that other bonded couples simply didn't want to be bonded. They hoped that wouldn't happen to Mister and Missus Potter, he heard about them from the grapevine (meaning Fawkes and Albus) and it seemed as if they were lovely children. They wrote a quick letter to the Headmaster and watched as Fawkes flamed away.

* * *

While Headmaster Dumbledore wrote to the elder Weasleys, Ginny was enjoying her dream as much as she could before she woke up. They switched places, so now Harry's head was on her lap. They both grinned goofily at each other as she leaned down and kissed him gently. She hoped this wouldn't end, (she ignored the fact that this dream felt longer than any other one she had) she loved the feeling of the sun in her face and the slight breeze which cooled them off. At least being here didn't affect anything out in reality. Even though she didn't exactly like Chang, she wasn't going to get in the way of Harry's happiness for her sake. She ran her hands through the unruly locks, relishing in how soft it felt, Ginny wondered if it felt this soft in real life. As soon as she looked down, she chuckled at the sight of his hair.

"What?" Harry asked, green eyes blinking up at her. She couldn't help but let out short bursts of laughter.

"Your hair!"

"It's your fault," he muttered, the smile betrayed his desolate tone.

"I like it. It looks cute on you."

"I am not _cute_," he said indignantly. "Kittens are cute. I am not a kitten"

Ginny smirked. "Kittens are cute. And so are you. Maybe I should turn you into a kitten so you'll agree with me."

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine."

There was a long pause. "You know, Gin, this dream feels a bit too long. I wonder if Ron's noticed."

"I know," she said. "Wait, _you wonder if Ron's noticed? _This is my bloody dream! Why the hell are you thinking of Ron? I should tell Fred and George their product's defective."

"_Your dream_? This is mine, I slept halfway through breakfast," Harry yelled back.

"I used Fred and George's daydream charm." Harry, who was in Ginny's lap was standing facing her head on. Ginny stood with her hands on her hips and said, "So if you think it's your dream."

"And you think it's yours," Harry continued.

"Oh, Merlin, are we _sharing this dream?_" Ginny almost yelled, either in panic or frustration she didn't know. "No, no, no. This cannot be happening. I thought you fancied Cho?"

"I did! I do — I don't know anymore!"

"Well, fuck," Ginny said bluntly.

"Thanks for putting that out there, sweetheart."

* * *

After three days in the real world, everyone was surrounding the couple who's was still shimmering a beautiful gold. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came immediately once they received Dumbledore's letter. On the second day, Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione were allowed to visit. At the first sight of the two, Ron's faced flamed in anger and before he got to yell, Mrs. Weasley smacked him upside the head. At the Flamels arrival, there were many handshakes, greetings, and introductions ("Your card's in my collection," Ron said excitedly). They sat and waited for the two to wake up and when they did, did they look shocked.

They started stirring, Harry tightened his grip on her waisted as she snuggled up to him, her hand on his chest. Both their eyes opened simultaneously and once they saw each other, they screamed. Ginny scrambled from the bed and threw the pillow at his face.

"You git, what the hell are you doing?" Ginny yelled as she took the pillow and smacked him in the face again.

"What am I doing? You're the one cuddling up to me!" Harry yelled back, surprising the others. He took the extra pillow and hit it against her side.

"I didn't want that!" She hit him again.

"Oh I disagree, wasn't it you who declare—" Ginny grabbed her wand, which was conveniently placed near the bed they were sleeping in. She shot a tickling jinx at him and he started laughing uncontrollably. She smirked and twirled her wand as he a begged for her to stop the jinx. Mrs. Weasley coughed loudly and Ginny froze. She stopped the jinx and faced their audience.

"Hi, mum."


	3. Marital Issues With the Potters

**Author's Note: …surprise? I don't know what else to say, I'm sorry. PLEASE READ ON AO3 EVERYTHING IS UPDATED THERE FIRST AND HAS ALL THE EDITS DONE. **

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**This is also on Archive of Our Own: archiveofourown[.org]/works/1801063/chapters/11770106 (take out brackets) **

* * *

Chapter 3: Marital Issues With the Potters

Ginny stared at the headmaster with utter disbelief. Her hands fell limp in her lap and she didn't have to turn to Harry to see he was in the same position. Professor Dumbledore had gently asked the others to leave while he explained the situation to them. And explain he did.

She shook her head, her mind not quite wrapping around the process. So she and Harry apparently have a bloody _soul bond_ with each other and their magical cores have expanded because of it.

Harry Potter + Ginny Weasley + soul bond = ?

Does not compute.

It's just her luck; she went to sleep just to be inside a happy daydream and she wakes up to this chaos (read: Harry and Company). She knew that this was her dream, her fantasy to be romantically involved with Harry, but she never wanted it like _this_. Ginny told him of her feelings and she was rejected because he liked someone else; she never wanted anything forced between the two. After the fiasco in her first year, forcing one was an evil action to her. She didn't notice the professor quietly calling the others in when words tumbled out of her mouth without any repercussions, "Can it be broken?"

Even though she wasn't anywhere near Harry (he decided sitting on a completely different bed after the debacle was a rather good decision), she felt a swirl of red-hot emotions rushing through her and she automatically tensed as Harry did. Ginny winced; well that hurt like a rather sharp jinx to the gut.

Everyone stared at them again, not with amusement, but now with shock and confusion. The Flamels looked rather put out, scratch that, they looked downright sorrowful. But why?

"Miss Weasley—" Professor Dumbledore started, but he was interrupted by Nicolas Flamel's hand gently squeezing his shoulder. They gave each other a glance before her professor nodded and took a step back. Flamel took a deep breath before he began, "Suffice to say, there are no known spells, rituals, potions or otherwise that could break this bond unless you consider death an option."

Ginny clenched her eyes shut and grabbed the crisp, white bed sheets in her hand, ruining their perfect appearance. She vaguely heard her mother's gasp when Harry spoke up, "Mister Flamel, sir, but how did we even get this bond without us knowing?"

Nicolas and Perenelle glanced at each other for a long moment, communicating through their eyes (maybe even their minds) and Perenelle answered, "No one choses a soul bond, Mister Potter. Only a true, deep love can evoke this type of bond and if a couple chose to ignore it, they would wither away." She turned towards her, eyes gleaming with a sort of sadness that Ginny can't comprehend. "I urge you both to try and make this bond work. I'm very sorry to be so blunt, but failed cooperation can lead to your demise."

Harry and Ginny's eyes met and they came to the same conclusion. She turned towards the others and slowly nodded. She didn't notice, but the tension in her shoulders lessened as she received Harry's agreement to their mutual decision. A relieved smile broke out of the female Flamel's expression and the others soon followed after a silent beat.

Ginny could feel emerald eyes tracking her movements as she walked over to her family. She wrinkled her nose and thought, _Obvious much?_

To her surprise, Harry said to her, "Sorry." She stopped in her tracks; she was pretty sure she never opened her mouth. She though again, testing this new 'power' out, _Nod your head if you can hear me_. Harry looked at her and nodded immediately after she asked him to.

"Well," Ginny started off slowly, "that's new."

"No kidding, sweetheart," mumbled Harry.

They didn't notice the knowing smiles the Flamels gave each other.

"I wonder if I could—" _annoy you during class now, _he pondered and smirked at her before Ginny shot him a glare.

"Don't even think about it, Potter."

Harry had the decency to keep his mouth _and_ mind shut.

* * *

The others left Ginny and Harry to talk amongst themselves. They started at each other for a few silent moments before she sighed and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. He looked adorable with his nose crunched up like that— _Stop it, Weasley_. He said, confused, "Why are you sorry? This wasn't your fault. And stop what?"

"Nothing, ignore that. It's just that… you like Cho and I saw you guys kissing and now you're being forced into this with me."

She felt his stare dig into her soul and she glanced up to look into his eyes. His eyes were soft, and he gently squeezed her shoulder, making her smile slightly. He said, taking a seat next to her and bumping his shoulder against her own, "It was just a crush and that kiss was—" He wrinkled his nose again. "—wet and sort of weird since she was crying a lot about Cedric, mind you. And besides, I'm glad it's you that I'm stuck with."

At those words, Ginny's heart soared with hope. "Me too."

She added after a few beats, "You're still a bloody prat, Potter."

Harry laughed, free and light, before teasing her, "And you're a spitfire, if I ever knew one."

"Don't you forget it," Ginny warned.

Harry responded solemnly, "Never."

* * *

Ginny and Harry woke up the next day next to each other. They both blushed, but at least they didn't start fighting again. The Flamels told them to expect this kind of innate behavior for the first few weeks of their bonding. Madame Pomfrey walked over and she stated, "Headmaster Dumbledore wants to speak to the both of you in his office once as soon as possible."

Harry nodded and turned to Ginny before he asked, "Do you want to eat breakfast first?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm curious to see what Professor Dumbledore wants to tell us."

They both walked to his office and Harry whispered the password underneath his breath, "Licorice." Before they could even knock on the door Professor Dumbledore chimed, "Come in."

How that man knew practically everything going on in Hogwarts, Ginny had no clue. They took their seats and Ginny tapped her fingers against her thighs, restless. She felt like she was there because she had done something wrong even though she knew she didn't. He stared at them over his desk before he smiled comfortingly and greeted, "Good morning. I'm sorry to have called you this early in the morning, but I have some urgent matters to discuss with the both of you. The other professors and I have discussed your situation and I have talked to the Flamels about how we should deal with a soul bonding. They said that you should be in the vicinity of each other for the next couple of weeks. But physical contact is better to aid the process of the bonding. You will have to be in separate dormitories from your other classmates, so not to raise too many suspicions if one of you were to be seen in the wrong dormitory.

"Also, Miss Weasley, because of this I have asked your parents' permission for you to take your fourth year exams early, since you already seen to be excelling in your classes. If you'll accept, that is." Ginny nodded, her classes were going pretty slow for her anyway. He continued, "All that's different in your schedules is one of your electives. Miss Weasley, you're taking Ancient Runes and Mister Potter, you're taking Divination. If one of you would like to change, that would an immense help."

Harry responded, "I'll switch to Ginny's Ancient Runes. But, Professor, how will I keep up with the course?"

Ginny offered, "I could help you, Harry."

"Ah, well that settles it then. Miss Weasley, your exams will be near the end of the holidays and Mister Potter, Professor Babbling can give you assistance if you need some. Oh, and the Flamels have asked you to meet them in the classroom near your dorms every other day at seven starting tomorrow. Dobby will show you the way to your rooms whenever you need to."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said and Ginny echoed his sentiments. They left his office and ambled towards the Great Hall.

Harry stopped suddenly and stated, "Well, time to face the others."

Ginny groaned and she smacked her face on Harry's chest. She felt the rumbling in her ears, indicating his chuckled at her antics. She smirked and faced him. "At least I'm not the _Boy Who Lived_. All the attention's going to you."

Harry said, dismayed, "Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"Well," Harry spluttered, "you're going to be with me through it all, so ha!"

She grinned at him cheekily. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"…you win," Harry murmured, a mocking defeat. She laughed and hesitated for a slight second before she kissed his cheek.

"Get used to it, Potter."


End file.
